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__NOEDITSECTION__ This is an in-universe listing of the Popes and their various deeds from the author's ongoing play-through of as the Papal States faction. 'Papal States' Gregory the Pious of the Papal States Gregory "the Pious" (c. 1040 A.D. – 1103 A.D.) took Saint Peter's Throne in 1080 A.D., ruling until 1103 A.D. During his tenure as Pope, Gregory worked to build Rome into the mercantile capital of the known world, forging a multiplicity of alliances and trade agreements with foreign powers inside and outside of Christendom. To this end, his most trusted diplomat, Talentus Arlocti (c. 1051 A.D. – 1112 A.D.), traveled across Europe from Italy to Iberia, through France and Prussia, and back down by means of Poland and Hungary, forging valuable trading partnerships and alliances while simultaneously mapping the known world. Gregory was notable for calling the First Crusade for occupied Jerusalem against the forces of Egypt, dispatching the Vatican's commanding general Conpangnus the Crusader (c. 1055 A.D. – ) to oversee the conquest of the holy city alongside the allied armies of Venice and Milan. The Levant's territories and related incomes were forthwith gifted to the Kingdom of Denmark for their continued support for Gregory's papacy. Returning to the Vatican in 1098, Conpangnus brought with him a number of holy relics recovered from the city during his time away from Rome, the most notable being the Veil of Veronica. Gregory's College of Cardinals was populated by two other representatives of the Papal States, Falcone the Peaceful (c. 1047 A.D. – 1108 A.D.) and Froderigus the Pious (c. 1053 A.D. – 1113 A.D.). At their recommendation, Gregory oversaw the establishment of the Master Theologians' Guild in Rome in early 1102 A.D., one of the foremost seminaries and institutions of higher learning in Europe. Around the time of Rome's expansion to a large city, Froderigus and Falcone also drew up plans for a large Cathedral of St. Peter they subsequently presented to Gregory. Though the pope initially delayed construction for several years in favor of updating existing mercantile structures, he eventually oversaw the laying of its cornerstone in early 1102 A.D., several months before his death. Gregory established the precedent that defined the Papal States as a city-state nation of a single territory forbidden from outward expansion. He particularly disliked the thought of the Holy See engaging in external military conquest, a duty he believed lay with the rest of Christendom. Apart from Jerusalem, he only authorized the conquest of a single city—Florence in early 1102 A.D.—during his tenure, granting the city and its associated territories to the Kingdom of Sicily for its continued loyalty to the Vatican. His successors abode by this precedent, only taking territories on a temporary basis before regifting them to loyal allies. Ubaldus the Adored of the Papal States Ubaldus "the Adored" (c. 1053 A.D. – 1113 A.D.), previously known as Froderigus the Pious, was elected pope by the College of Cardinals in early 1103 A.D. soon after the death of Gregory. As a member of the preferati, he ran against Halstan the Unorthodox of Denmark and Ulászló of Hungary in the papal election. He was controversially known to have monetarily solicited the support of two Cardinals of the Kingdom of Sicily and one of the Kingdom of Spain, engaging in underhanded financial dealings for the purposes of vote buying that resulted in the payment of 18,000 ducats to Sicily and 10,000 ducats to Spain. This left the Papal States coffers largely empty with the start of Ubaldus's tenure as Bishop of Rome, though his financial savvy worked to refresh them prior to his death. Ubaldus moved quickly to reassert the Papal States' control over the papacy and the College of Cardinals, filling a number of seats on the College of Cardinals with Master Theologians' Guild apprentices and Rome natives. The pope's former seat was filled by Amatus the Pious (c. 1069 A.D. – ) in early 1104, while that of Falcone the Peaceful was filled by Alferius Nuntius (c. 1088 A.D. – ) with the former's death in 1108 A.D. The secular military forces of the Papal States were bolstered by the recruitment of talented general Datus de Verde "the Conqueror" (c. 1074 A.D. – ) in 1103 A.D. Though Gregory's cathedral was completed in late 1104 A.D., earning Ubaldus renown for his hand in its design and development, his reign was considered largely uneventful and he was little remembered after his death. Ubaldus's most controversial decision was his establishment of a papal assassination unit tasked with eliminating various political opponents, heretical priests, and deviants of an undesirable nature at the direct request of the pope. Founded in 1112 A.D., this group was led by veteran assassins Lanbertus the Killer (c. 1087 A.D. – 1113 A.D.) and Bandinus de Arizio (c. 1077 A.D. – ). Used to mixed degree of effectiveness during Ubaldus's tenure as pope, the group was subsequently disbanded by Pope Gaitanus in 1113 A.D. after a botched assassination of Princess Adelisa almost began a war with the Kingdom of Sicily. Gaitanus of the Papal States Gaitanus (c. 1069 A.D. – ), previously known as Amatus the Pious, was elected Bishop of Rome by the College of Cardinals in 1113 A.D. with the death of Ubaldus the Adored. A bishop preferati, he ran against Henri the Missionary of France and Gregorio de Andura of Venice in the papal election. Like his predecessor, he worked to ensure continued Papal States hegemony by engaging in vote buying, notably forking over some 40,800 ducats to the Kingdom of Sicily in exchange for the votes of three cardinals.